Atlas mountains

Atlas mountains

Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains (Arabic: جبال الأطلس‎, jibāl al-ʾaṭlas; Berber languages: ⵉⴷⵓⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵡⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ, idurar n waṭlas) are a mountain range in the Maghreb. It stretches around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The range’s highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167 metres (13,671 ft) in southwestern Morocco. It separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert.

The mountains are home to a number of plant and animal species unique in Africa, often more like those of Europe. Many of them are endangered and some have already gone extinct. Examples include the

Barbary macaque,

the Atlas bear (Africa’s only native bear now extinct)

the Barbary leopard

the Barbary stag

Barbary sheep

the Barbary lion (extinct in the wild)

the Atlas Mountain badger

the North African elephant (extinct)

the North African aurochs (extinct)

Cuvier’s gazelle

the Northern bald ibis

dippers

the Atlas mountain viper

the Atlas cedar

the European black pine

and the Algerian oak

The Berbers are the original inhabitants of these vast mountains and their civilization reaches back more than eight millennia. Their traditional flat-roofed homes, made from packed stone and earth, seem to have grown from the mountains themselves. They make a living farming and herding livestock, using age-old techniques to live in the fertile valleys between the forbidding slopes.

The modern world has little impact on the villages that cling to the rocky slopes. When you visit, you’ll see a way of life that’s largely unchanged over thousands of years. Because their lives are so closely tied to the mountains, Berbers are respectful of the land. This sustainable attitude translates even to the hotels that have sprung up in the past few decades, ecolodges designed to limit their footprint on the rugged, but delicate, landscape

Things to do in the Atlas Mountains

Culture and history info

you’re exploring the ruins of Volubilis, strolling through the streets of an ancient medina, shopping for spices in a centuries-old souk, or following a chain of pack mules up to a remote Berber village, you can’t escape the power of Moroccan history. In the valleys of the High Atlas, the descendants of the country’s original nomadic inhabitants still live in a remarkably similar style to their ancient ancestors. Architecture in urban areas often carries traces of the Roman and Islamic occupations that helped shape modern Morocco.

The country’s history is tied up with the story of the Berber tribes, who repelled the Ancient Roman colonialists with a campaign of harassment, and later survived through a cycle of rising and falling Islamic dynasties. The largely Berber Istiqlal (independence) party aggressively contested the brief French occupation of Morocco during the early 20th century and control was eventually ceded to a line of Moroccan kings. Throughout the latter part of the century borrowing, corruption, poverty, and civil discontent took their toll.

Since King Mohammed VI was enthroned in 1999, however, Morocco has instituted sweeping political and economic changes. Poverty is still widespread and unemployment high, but initiatives to attract foreign investment and tourism are bringing new opportunities.

The human rights record is markedly improved and today ranks among the cleanest across Africa and the Middle East. Women have benefitted from education initiatives, a new legal code that protects their rights to both divorce and custody, and new protections for Berber (Amazigh) culture including the introduction of Tamazight (written Berber) in schools.

The country’s first municipal elections in 2002 were hailed as a step towards democratisation, but Islamist and other political factions are closely monitored, as are news media. Further progress was made during the Arab Spring, which saw thousands of protestors take to the streets of Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, and Marrakech to demand a new constitution and a change in government. Their peaceful tactics paid off and in spring 2011, the King announced his intention to stamp out corruption and reform the constitution. Immediate changes included handing more executive authority to the prime minister and parliament and making Berber an official national language alongside Arabic.

Dar mazik 

Imlil Atlas mountain marrakech morocco, Atlas mountains

DAR MAZIK is one of the best accommodations in the Atlas Mountains. It is situated in the foothill o More info

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AN eight-year-old is on the top of the world after becoming the youngest UK child to have successfully tackled a 4,000 metre mountain climb.Sam Ford, along with his parents, Martin and Helen, have conquered Mount Toubkal in Morocco in aid of St Helena Hospice.Sam took on the challenge in memory of his grandad, John Walker, who was cared for by the hospice.The trio, from Colchester, started the challenge on April 11, trekking over five days to acclimatise to the altitude, before reaching the summit at 4,167m on day six.They reached the summit after a nine-hour trek, which was made even more difficult with winds of up to 70mph.Martin said it was a “life-changing experience”.Sam added: “I’m really proud of my achievement and would like to do it again.“It got a bit tough when I got above the snow line and had to take my crampons off my shoes for a short while to get over a rocky section.“That was tough and a little scary.”Martin has submitted an application for Sam to be awarded a Guinness World Record as the youngest child in the UK to reach the summit. He is also only the fourth child aged under 11 to scale such heights.He decided he wanted to climb a mountain after his dad told him he would climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in October.Sam’s grandmother gave him one of his grandad’s watches before the trek and he took that with him up the mountain.He has raised almost £2,000 so far for the hospice.more

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ATLASMOUNTAINBIKE is a small structure created and managed by mountain guide qualified graduates . We are part of the MOROCCO GUIDE allowing us to offer unique mountain biking trips! Our passion for the mountains is a daily and all year adventures on the mountain in all its forms: mountain biking, hiking trails,